Nada Halloway

Engendering War: Colonial History, Gender, and the Re-invention of Post-colonial Identities. Nada Halloway

The focus is on the relationship between literature and history,and colonialism and the post-colonial novel. There is an on going dialogue between the post-colonial novels and the nineteenth century novels. The language that is present in the literary production of the nineteenth centurey is the langauge of power as it categorized, judged, and subordinated non-Europeans. This language was utilized to dominate and conquer other races that were deemed inferior. This language of conquest is now under scrutiny in so called third world novels as post-colonial writers appropriate the language of power to re-interpret the colonial experience. The appropriation is also a form of conquest as previously subjugated peoples re-present the conquerors within the pages of their literary productions. In the hands of the post-colonial writer, the civilizing mission is no-longer an altruistic endeavor but an act of warfare. Language becomes even more of an issue when women writers from the ex-colonies look at their roles and indentities in both colonial and post-colonial societies.